More than 1,100 scholars, poets, writers and supporters have signed a open letter outlining the concerns and demands made to the Smithsonian Institution following the abrupt cancellation of the 2023 Asian American Literature Festival (AALF). The letter, written by AALF partners and attendees, alleges that the notice of cancellation of the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) event just a month before it took place shows “a flagrant lack of accountability for the harm done” to both APAC staff and festival attendees.
“Previous years’ festival has created an unprecedented opportunity for Asian American and Asian Diaspora writers to build community and reach new audiences; cancellation is detrimental not only to the careers of these artists and the future of these organizations, but also to the broader literary community and the Asian American community as a whole,” reads the letter, including signatories include poets George Abraham, Nellie Wong, and Wo Chan, illustrator Matt Huynh, and authors Ryan Lee Wong, Debbi Michiko Florence, and Melanie Conklin.
The letter also calls for the “immediate resignation” of acting APAC director Yao-Fen You, who sent an event cancellation email to only a fraction of the attendees involved on July 5. Per You’s email, the third iteration of the festival, scheduled for the weekend of August 4, would not take place “due to unforeseen circumstances” without further explanation, the Washington Post announced last Friday. Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas informed the Job that the festival was canceled because it “was still in the development phase” and “couldn’t be run at the [Smithsonian’s] high-level standards,” stating that “festival organizers were unable to prepare a full set of confirmed documents” by a specific date. St. Thomas also said that “no publicity was made and attendees were notified immediately.”
But in conversations with Hyperallergicteam members and participants who worked with them refuted any claims that the program was still in development.
Cathy Linh Che, executive director of the New York-based nonprofit Kundiman Literary Association, said the Smithsonian’s claims about the event’s planning stage were “false” and that the schedule had been finalized early. may. These accounts were corroborated by contracted program coordinator Kate Hao, who worked on the event planning team from February 2023 until July 5, when she received her work stoppage notice from the Smithsonian a few minutes after the posting of You’s cancellation notice.
hao said Hyperallergic that she had never communicated with you, expressing her frustration and confusion at the abrupt cancellation.
“I was an essential member of this team and I haven’t heard from you once,” she said. “If there were real concerns about our progress, why didn’t she reach out? Why did she decide to cancel without notice or good faith engagement with the planning team prior to the decision? »
Hao also noted that St. Thomas’ statement that no publicity was made for the event was “demonstrably untrue,” pointing out APAC “save the date” Instagram post about the event which took place on June 1 and was reposted by several potential participants. She also reiterated that not all attendees were notified of the cancellation, including herself. “It was the APAC operations staff who transmitted [You’s] let me know,” she said.
The open letter’s first request called on the Smithsonian to retract its “public statement blaming festival planning staff” for the event’s cancellation and release “a genuine explanation.”
The letter also speculates that the event may have been canceled in part due to the trans and non-binary content included in the program. On July 5, the planning staff provided you with a document including all planned programming, which included the trans and non-binary reading room led by non-binary trans poet and writer Ching-In Chen, to review for sensitive content or controversial by Smithsonian guideline 603. You sent him a notice of cancellation the same evening, prompting questions from some attendees.
Hyperallergic contacted the Smithsonian about these claims.
“The timing is suspicious,” Chen said Hyperallergic. “I know staff had to submit the program report for previous iterations of AALF and got approval without issue, so that raises questions.”
“I participated in the AALF 2019, where I was a co-speaker for the Secret stories talk“explained Chen. “I had challenged our community to teach and include more trans and non-binary voices, stories and writers. The trans and non-binary reading room was going to spotlight this work during the festival, and I think it speaks to the planning team’s commitment to integrating it into this year’s iteration.
The letter also asks the Smithsonian Institution to host the reading room as a stand-alone event later this year. Other demands include promises of an iteration of the AALF in 2024, more transparent and collaborative decision-making processes for the festival going forward, and full honorariums and paid hosting at the venue. hotel for all participants who are unable to cancel their travel plans.
Saint Thomas said Hyperallergic that an updated statement addressing the open letter is forthcoming. Members of the planning team employed directly by APAC could not immediately comment on the letter.
